Lady&#39;s garment.



I. D. POSNER.

LADY'S GARMENT.

APPLICATION mm NOV. a. 1915.

Patented Sept. 19, 1916.

9 m 7 t 1 m JACOB D. POSNER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

LADYS GARMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 19, 1916.

Application filed November 8, 1915. Serial No. 60,245.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JACOB D. POSNER, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York city, in the county of New York and State of NewYork, have invented new and useful Improvements in Ladies Garments, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain novel and useful improvements inladies garments.

In the present instance I have shown my invention in the form of anether undergarment which embodies the characteristics and advantages ofa skirt or petticoat, both in appearance and effect, combined with thefeatures and functions of a bifurcated garment such as bloomers,knickers, drawers or pantalettes so that in actual practice my articleof apparel will, as a unitary structure serve the purpose of both abifurcated garment and a skirt. I wish it to be understood, however,that the invention is not limited to a garment adapted to be used as anunderskirt, as it may also be made up for use as an outer or overskirt,furthermore it may be embodied in the form of a union garment, that isto say one wherein a waist, corset cover, chemise or other upper garmentis formed integral with or united to the skirt section or nethergarment.

In carrying out my invention I have in View, among other purposes, theprovision of a garment which, while forming a complete skirt orpetticoat both in appearance and effect, also constitutes a closedgarment which will serve to protect the person of the wearer against theelements, and which will possess all of the conveniences and freedom ofmovement, as well as the capabilities of a bifurcated garment, so thatwhen embodied for instance in the form of an undergarment it may be usedas a substitute for and replace all other articles of wearing apparelcustomarily worn as imdergarments.

Still a further object of the invention is the provision of an articleof apparel which may be made from any material commonly used in theconstruction of ordinary undergarments, and which may be ornamented inany preferred manner, as by the use of laces, embroidery, ribbons,frills, ruchings and the like. Furthermore, when embodied in the form ofan outer garment it may be constructed of any suitable material andmodiment which is 'equippedwith fied' asadvisable to adapt it for aparticular use such as' a walking, riding or gymnasium habit.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a garment which whenconstructed as a union undergarment will dispense with the necessity ofwearing such undergarments as corset covers, chemise and the like.

Furthermore, I propose to provide a gargarters which not only act tosecure the stockingsbut also serve to enable the skirt to be adjusted soas to be lengthened or shortened as desired.

It is also my purpose'to provide a garment ofthis type which will embodythe desired features of simplicity, comfort and convenience, which willnot bind upon the person of the wearer, nor hinder-nor limit the freedom'of movement of the latter, and which when worn will present a neat,attractive and stylish appearance.

With the above recited objects, and others of a similar nature in view,my invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangementof parts set forth in and falling within the scope of the appendedclaims.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure l is a front View of my garmentembodied in the form of an underskirt'and showing how it appears whenworn by a person assuming a straight standing position. Fig. 2 is asim'ilarview showing the appearance of the skirt when the limbs oftheperson are spread apart a relatively great distance. Fig. 3 is view inside elevation and also showing the garment upon the wearer. Fig. 4 is aplan View of the blank or piece of material from which the skirt ismade, the final shape of the blank being shown in full lines. Fig. 5 isa view in front elevation showing the skirt in spread position with aportion of the front of the skirt broken away to illustrate the locationof one of the garters. Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view takenthrough the skirt on the line 66 of Fig. 5 looking in the direction ofthe arrows. Fig. 7 is a plan view showing one form of blank or piece ofmaterial from which the inserts of the leg sections of the garment maybe made. Fig.8 is a similar view of another form of blank for making theinserts of the leg sections. Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing theinvention embodied in one form of union garment and showing it as itappears upon the wearer.

Referring to the accompanying drawings in detail, and particularly toFigs. 1 to 8 thereof, wherein the invention is shown as embodied in anunderskirt or nether garment, the letter A indicates the garment as anentirety while 1 designates the waistband by means of which the garmentis fastened on the wearer. This waistband may be made of any preferredmaterial, either elastic or inelastic, and the ends of the band abovethe back or placket opening 8 of the skirt may be connected together inany suitable manner as by means of hooks and eyes, buttons or the like.

In the cutting or making up of the skirt I use a piece or section of aselected material, such as cloth, silk or other fabric, preferablycutting from the bolt of material a rectangular section such as isindicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4: and designated by the letter B.This piece of material Bis then preferably cut as indicated in fulllines in Fig. 4, that is to say one of the transverse edges is cutslightly concave as shown at 3 while the opposite transverse edge is outslightly convex as shown at 4. The piece of material is then preferablyfolded 'or doubled on the central transverse line as indicated by dottedlines in Fig. 4., the folded edge so resulting subsequently constitutingthe bottom edge 5 of the skirt. When so folded, the edge 4 will liesubstantially even with the edge 3, and the corners are cut or roundedas shown at 5 to accommodate the curvature of the hips. Eachlongitudinal side of the folded or doubled material is also cutlaterally as at 6 at a point above the bottom folds and then cutdownward and outward or on a bias through such bottom folds as at 7, sothat a two-ply triangular piece of material is removed from each sideadjacent the bottom or folded edge. If the piece of material be nowunfolded it appears as shown in full lines in Fig. 4; with the exceptionof the longitudinal incision 8 which is cut in the half section 9 of thefabric which forms the back of the skirt, the front of said skirt beingof course formed by the other half section of the fabric indicated at10.

When the piece of material B has been folded and cut as described theadjacent side edges are united by stitching from the corner points 11 atthe waist to the side points 12 at the leg openings 0 the latter beingformed by the cutting away of the material at the bottom side portionsas before described. These leg openings O are covered or provided withinsert sections D as clearly shown in the drawing. These insert sectionsD may be of any preferred material such as lace or silk, and may beruffled, gathered, plaited or ornamented in any manner to suit theindividual taste. Or, if desired, these insert sections may be made ofthe same material as the garment itself. One manner of constructing andapplying an insert section is to take a rectangular piece of materialsuch as is shown at 13 in Fig. 7 and stitch the upper edge 14: thereofaround the top marginal edge of a leg opening, the side edges 15 of theinsert section being stitched to the inclined or bias out side marginaledges of the opening, the bottom edge 16 of the insert sectionpreferably.

reaching or falling to the level of the bottom edge 5 of the skirt. Ofcourse, when a rectangular piece of material is used for the insert itis gathered or tucked as may be required to cause it to fit, flare anddrape properly when attached. However, I prefer to make each insertsection D in the general shape of a segment as shown at 17 in Fig. 8,the concave top edge 18 being stitched to the top marginal edge of theleg opening while the oppositely inclined side edges 19 are stitched tothe side marginal edges of such leg opening so that the rounded bottomedge 20 of the insert section will drop or fall to the bottom edge 5 ofthe garment proper. It will be evident, of course, that when attached tothe body of the garment these insert sections are opened at the bottomand serve to cover the leg openings and the portions of the limbs of thewearer inserted therethrough.

The garment is further preferably, but not necessarily, provided withthe band garters 21, stitched or otherwise secured at or adjacent to thetop marginal edges of the leg openings and on the inside of the skirt.Furthermore, these garters when employed are preferably, but notnecessarily, made of elastic material, and in addition to serving thepurpose of holding up the stockings, also enable the person to adjustthe skirtas to length as will be readily understood.

By forming the leg openings as described, perfect freedom of movement ofthe limbs is permitted and the garment may be put on and taken off asreadily as an open skirt. By cutting the openings on a bias asdescribed, the insert sections when applied will drape and flaredownward and outward so that the bottom edges of the insert sectionsfall to the line of the folded or doubled edge of the skirt andpractically form a continuous edge with the latter. Furthermore, by socutting the leg openings on the bias the material of the garment willfall away from the legs thus giving freedom of movement and eliminatingthe annoyance of the material of the garment clinging around the legs asis incident to a wide, full skirt. It will also be noted that the sidesof the skirt proper, extending from the waist points ll to the points 12form sides shorter than the length of the skirt from the waistband tothe bottom edge 5 so that the garment has the freedom of bloomers so faras knee movement and the like is concerned.

The waistband of the skirt may be of any desired character.

In Fig. 9 I have shown my invention as embodied in a union garment, inthis case the corset cover or waist E being formed integral with orattached to the skirt section A, the back opening 22 in this caseextending down through the waist and through the skirt down to about theknee, the opening being closed by any suitable means, such as clasps,hooks and eyes, buttons, etc., as clearly shown. It will of course, beunderstood that the invention may be embodied in Various types of uniongarments adapted for either underwear or outer wear as may be desired.

While I have herein shown and described the preferred forms of myinvention I wish it to be understood that I do not confine myself to allthe precise details of construction herein set forth by way ofillustration, as modification and variation may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention or exceeding the scope of theappended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A garment of the class described including a skirt having a closedbottom edge portion and leg openings at each side of the skirt extendingdown to and through the bottom edge portion and separate substantiallysheet-like fabric sections attached throughout their top edge portionsto the top marginal edges of the leg openings and attached throughoutthe length of their spaced side edge portions to the side marginal edgesof the leg openings, said sections overlying the openings and adapted topartially embrace the limbs of the wearer.

2. A garment of the class described comprising a skirt having aclosedbottom edge portion, the material of the skirt at each side thereofhaving a leg opening defined by a substantially horizontal top marginaledge and inclined vertical marginal edges extending downward to andthrough the bottom edge of the skirt, and separate flared sections offabric attached at their top and side edges to the marginal edges of theopenings and constituting coverings for such openings, said flaredsections of fabric being adapted to partially embrace the limbs of thewearer.

3. A garment of the class described comprising a skirt having a closedbottom edge portion and leg openings at opposite sides of the skirtabove the closed bottom edge portion and extending down to and openingthrough said bottom edge portion, and separate fabric sections attachedto the skirt and constituting coverings for said openings, the bottomedges of said fabric sections being free and lying substantially evenwith the closed bottom edge of the skirt to form a continuation of suchedge, said separate fabric sections being adapted to partially embracethe limbs of the wearer.

4. A garment of the class described comprising a skirt having a closedbottom edge portion and leg openings at opposite sides of the skirtcontiguous to the closed bottom edge portion, coverings for the legopenings comprising separate sections of material attached to the skirtand overlying such openings adapted to partially embrace the limbs ofthe wearer, and garter members attached to the inner side of the body ofthe skirt above the top marginal edges of the openings.

5. A garment of the class described comprising a skirt section and awaist section, said skirt section having a closed bottom edge portionand leg openings formed in opposite sides of the skirt and extendingdown to and opening through the closed bottom edge portion, and separatefabric coverings for the leg openings attached at their top edgeportions to the top marginal edges of the openings and attachedthroughout the length of their side edge portions to the side marginaledges of the openings, said fabric coverings constituting limb embracingsections in conjunction with the adjacent portions of the skirt.

'6. As a new article of wearing apparel, a ladys garment having thecombined characteristics of a skirt and pantalettes, said garmentcomprising a piece of material folded upon itself to form a closedbottom edge, the said portions of the piece being cut away laterally andlongitudinally to form leg openings extending through the closed bottomedge, the sides of the garment from the top marginal edges of theopenings to the waist being closed, one of said folded sections having aplacket opening therein, and an inserted leg covering overlying each legopening and having a free bottom edge terminating substantially in linewith the bottom edge of the skirt.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

JACOB D. POSNER. Witnesses:

J. GRANVILLE MEYERS, R. B. CAVANAGH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Cdmnissioner of Patents, Washington, .D. 0.

